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Cookie-Crusted Pumpkin Dessert just in time for Thanksgiving

Silly words that came from car-time with my grandchildren resulted in a new cookie called Shoogie Dadders. The cookie dough is loaded with oatmeal, sweet-tart grated Haralson apple woven through and little chunks of Sugar Babies that turn to taffy in the oven. The baked cookies are sweet and chewy. They got a thumbs-up from my granddaughter who rolled the funny words “shoogie dadder” off her tongue and out of her giggling mouth.

After turning some of the third batch of dough into cookies, I got tired of baking. I covered the bowl of remaining dough and stuck it into the refrigerator. A few days later, as I was thinking of Thanksgiving, I thought about baking pumpkin-pie filling in a Shoogie Dadder crust.

I patted some of the cookie dough into a 9- x 13-inch pan, covered it with broken, toasted pecans and baked it for about 10 minutes before pouring the pumpkin filling over the top. Once baked, the filling was creamy and the crust was soft and easy to cut.

Think about some of your favorite cookies and try baking the dough with a pumpkin filling. I found that 2 cups of cookie dough was just the right amount for covering the bottom of the rectangular baking pan. If you’ll be feeding a crowd for Thanksgiving, this dessert will provide more servings than a traditional pumpkin pie. And, it’s so easy to prepare.

Next time you bake cookies, hold out a couple of cups of dough. Store it in the freezer until it’s time to bake a pumpkin dessert for the holiday season.

Use fingers to press cookie dough into a lightly greased 9- x 13-inch pan, evenly covering the bottom of the pan. Break pecan halves and sprinkle evenly over the dough. Lightly press the pieces into the dough. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.

While crust bakes, use a wire whisk to beat eggs in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add pumpkin and whisk to blend. Mix in spices and salt. Gently whisk in half-and-half and vanilla extract.